Skip to content

Welcome guest

Please login or register
Blog > Hair Growth/Loss > Alopecia Hair Loss: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Alopecia Hair Loss: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Do you suspect you may have alopecia? Take our Hair Quiz for personalized product recommendations and you'll also receive an exclusive 10% off code. Be sure to check out our best-selling hair growth supplements!

Last night at the Oscars, Will Smith strutted up on stage and slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who is experiencing hair loss related to alopecia.

Before presenting an award midway through the Oscars, Rock took a jab at Jada saying, “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” referring to the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” which featured Demi Moore with a shaved head.

Jada recently shaved her head because, as she explained in an Instagram video, she’s been “struggling with alopecia.”

Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disorder that often results in unpredictable hair loss. It affects roughly 6.8 million people in the United States.

Your Hair Story Starts Here

Get Your Personalized Hair Routine.

Take Quiz
Take Quiz

What Is Alopecia?

Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that can cause hair to fall out in areas of your body, and for some throughout your body.

In the majority of cases, hair falls out in small patches or clumps. For most people, the hair loss is nothing more than a few patches, though in some cases it can be more extreme.

This autoimmune condition can affect anyone regardless of age and gender, though most cases occur before the age of 30.

Sometimes, it can lead to the complete loss of hair on the scalp (alopecia totalis) or, in extreme cases, the entire body (alopecia universalis)

The Different Types Of Alopecia

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease, which means the hair loss occurs when the immune system attacks your hair follicles and is in specific parts of your scalp or areas of your body.

Symptoms: Hair loss that results in small, patchy bald spots.
Outlook: There’s no cure, but lost hair can grow back with treatment.

There are a few different kinds of alopecia areata. Let’s dig into the most common ones.

Androgenetic Alopecia

Pattern hair loss can occur in men and women when hair becomes thinner all over the head rather than receding from the hair line (temple area).

Symptoms: Thinning hair on your crown, a receding hairline, or both.
Outlook: While there’s no cure, treatment can stop the condition from getting worse.

Androgenic alopecia is the number one cause of hair loss in the entire world. Despite its nickname, male pattern baldness, it affects women too.

Androgenic alopecia is the type of hair loss that can lead to baldness at the crown or hairline but usually doesn’t impact hair on the back and sides of the head.

Cicatricial Or Scarring Alopecia

A group of conditions that destroy the hair follicle and replace it with scar tissue.

Symptoms: Hair loss that leaves scars under the surface of the skin.
Outlook: This type of hair loss unfortunately can’t be reversed.

Cicatricial is a rare form of alopecia, also known as scarring alopecia, where hair follicles on the scalp are destroyed by inflammation and replaced with scar tissue.

The scar tissue forms beneath the surface of the skin, which means that the only way to spot this condition is to look for missing patches of hair. Hair loss from this form of alopecia is permanent, because once the follicles’ stem cells and sebaceous glands are destroyed, the hair can’t grow back.

Alopecia Totalis

Alopecia areata typically goes away on its own or with treatment, but if it doesn’t, it can develop into alopecia totalis. That’s when all of the hair on your scalp falls out. This hair loss can happen quickly or slowly.

Alopecia Universalis

This is the most advanced (and rarest) form of alopecia areata. Alopecia universalis causes all of the hair on your body to fall out—including your eyebrows and eyelashes.

Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is one of the most dramatic side effects of chemotherapy and occurs in about 65% of patients receiving cytotoxic drugs. The hair-shaft shedding can occur from a few days to weeks after the beginning of chemotherapy, with different shedding patterns depending on the severity of the insult. Specifically, telogen effluvium is associated with mild to moderate damage, while dystrophic anagen effluvium follows severe damage.

Give $10, Get $10

Share Goldie Locks® with a friend
and earn a $10 credit.

REFER A FRIEND
Give 10 Get 10

Postpartum Alopecia

Symptoms: Noticeable hair loss 2-3 months after giving birth.
Outlook: There’s no proven way to slow this hair loss, but it usually returns to its normal rate after a few months.

Postpartum alopecia, also known as postpartum telogen effluvium, is hair loss that affects women shortly after giving birth. Some shedding after a pregnancy ends is normal, but for some women, the hair loss is severe enough to be really noticeable. Because postpartum alopecia is caused by hormonal shifts, it’s usually temporary—after about a year, hormone levels go back to normal and the hair should grow back.

Traction Alopecia

Symptoms: A receding hairline or patches of hair loss around the temples (and a penchant for tight braids).
Outlook: The hair can grow back, but unaddressed traction alopecia can cause permanent damage.

This condition often comes from keeping your hair in braids or other tight hairstyles for so long that it gets permanently damaged. You won’t get this from braiding your hair every once in a while, but if you see your hairline starting to recede, you may consider wearing your hair in a less demanding hairstyle.

The Role Of Vitamins And Nutrients Linked To Alopecia

There are studies that show treating hair loss in non-scarring alopecia can first be linked to micronutrients that are lacking in our bodies. Micronutrients are responsible for your immune system and response as well as the overall health of your hair follicle.

Studies have shown patients suffering from alopecia areata also have low levels of vitamin D, iron and vitamin C.

Can Hair Growth Supplements Help With Alopecia Hair Loss?

Well-rounded nutrients encourage healthy hair growth and may prevent alopecia areata (AA) from happening to you. Goldie Locks® hair growth supplements include important micronutrients such as vitamins A, B, C, D and E, along with zinc, selenium and iron that may help you to prevent and/or regrow hair caused by alopecia.

Learn more about how Goldie Locks® may help you with hair loss.

Goldie Locks hair growth supplements for alopecia


hair growth supplements for fast hair growth

Hair Growth Supplements - Original Formula

Regular price   $230.00 Sale price   $90.00

Shop now
vitamins B for hair growth Next →

The Role of B-Vitamins in
Hair Growth

Your Cart

Your cart is currently empty

Have an account?

Login to checkout faster

Terms & Conditions

×
Terms and Conditions for Goldie Locks® Bi-Annual Sale (July 3-5, 2023):
  • The Goldie Locks® Bi-Annual Sale is valid exclusively at https://srp.goldielocks.com/ and ends at 11:59 pm MDT on July 5, 2023.
  • Goldie Locks® Professional Affiliates have the opportunity to earn a 25% commission bonus during the Bi-Annual Sale. To qualify for the bonus, the Affiliate must be one of the top three revenue generators from customers who place an order after clicking their affiliate link or using their coupon code. Total revenue is calculated based on all successful referrals before shipping & handling and taxes.
  • A 25% commission bonus will be paid to the three stylists who drive the highest revenue through their affiliate link or coupon code sales at goldielocks.com during the Bi-Annual Sale, which takes place from July 3-5, 2023.
    • Total revenue will be calculated based on product sales before factoring in shipping & handling or taxes.
    • When a customer clicks your affiliate link or uses your coupon code, they will be entitled to an additional 10% discount on their order. This discount is valid for first-time customer referrals only.
    • The bonus will be paid out as a percentage of the commissions earned between July 3-5, 2023. For instance, if you rank among the top three revenue earners during the sale and accumulate $500 in commissions, you would receive a 25% commission bonus of $125 ($500 x 25% = $125), resulting in a total commission earnings of $625.
  • To be eligible to win, your Goldie Locks® Professional account must be in good standing, meaning there should be no past due payments for orders placed at https://srp.goldielocks.com/. Additionally, you must have completed your W-9 and payment information in the Affiliate system.
  • Winners of the commission bonus will be announced on July 6, 2023, via email.
  • For any questions or clarifications regarding this promotion or these Terms and Conditions, please reach out to us at hello@goldielocks.com.

By participating in the Goldie Locks® Bi-Annual Sale, you acknowledge and agree to comply with these Terms and Conditions. Goldie Locks® reserves the right to modify or terminate this promotion at any time, for any reason, without prior notice.